Poor little Dumbya getting dissed by World

WASHINGTON (AP) - Firmly opposed to a military strike against Iraq, the
leaders of Russia, France and China agreed Friday to President Bush ( news -
web sites)'s personal appeal to hear the U.S. case against Saddam Hussein (
news - web sites) but gave no sign they would bend to it.

"We need to work together to make the world more
peaceful," Bush argued in back-to-back phone calls
that lasted but 30 minutes altogether and marked the
start of an uphill campaign to soften overseas
objections to his Iraq policy.

The president's only specific request of his three
counterparts was that they receive the top-level
officials he will dispatch to Paris, Moscow and Beijing
to present the American case against Saddam, an
administration official said.

All three agreed, the White House said.

Teams drawn from the State Department, the
Pentagon ( news - web sites) and the National
Security Council will go to the three capitals in early
October, a senior U.S. official told The Associated
Press.

But the word from overseas was that Russian
President Vladimir Putin ( news - web sites) and
French President Jacques Chirac stood firm in their
opposition to any unilateral U.S. action against Iraq.
Chinese officials said almost nothing about President
Jiang Zemin ( news - web sites)'s call from Bush.

Each could use his seat on the U.N. Security Council
to veto resolutions aimed at Saddam. The Bush team
is at work on a proposed resolution setting a deadline
for Iraq to admit weapons inspectors or risk punitive
action.

Meanwhile, satellite photos of Iraq show unexplained construction at sites the
team used to visit in its search for evidence that Saddam Hussein was trying to
develop nuclear arms, according to the head of a U.N. weapons inspection
team. White House spokesman Ari Fleischer ( news - web sites) said the
photos could indicate the Iraqi president "may seek to develop nuclear weapons
and may be making progress."

Bush on Friday morning did not broach any discussion of weapons inspections,
Fleischer said.

"The president heard messages of openness, a willingness to listen," said
Fleischer, briefing reporters on the generalities of Bush's conversations. "But it
is fair to say that each of these three leaders has various thoughts of their own."

Indeed, Chirac reiterated to Bush that any military action against Baghdad must
be decided at the United Nations ( news - web sites).

"If Iraq continues to refuse to allow weapons inspectors to return, then it is up to
the Security Council to take appropriate measures," spokeswoman Catherine
Colonna quoted Chirac as saying. "That will be the time to debate these
measures."

Putin, whose government recently forged a multi-billion-dollar economic pact
with Iraq, told Bush that Russia has serious reservations about using force to
topple Saddam.

Bush says he has not decided how to get rid of Saddam — whether by military
attack or some other means — but is convinced that his ouster is the only way
to quash Iraq's aspirations for chemical, biological and nuclear weapons.

Putin, whom Bush reached in the Black Sea resort city of Sochi, stuck to the
Russian position that there is real potential for a political solution to the Iraq
threat. According to a statement from the Kremlin press service, Putin also
spoke with British Prime Minister Tony Blair ( news - web sites) and expressed
doubts that military action against Iraq would comply with international law.

"We believe a policy of diplomatic steps and decisions might allow us to find a
long-term settlement of the situation around Iraq, which would meet the
interests of regional stability," Russian Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov told
reporters.

A two-sentence report by China's official Xinhua News Agency said only that
Jiang and Bush discussed "international and regional affairs" and U.S.-Chinese
relations. Earlier this week, China welcomed Baghdad's foreign minister to
Beijing to reaffirm their countries' "extremely friendly ties."

At Camp David on Saturday, Bush confers with Blair, who, in principle, has
backed a military attack to remove Saddam, despite strong reservations among
Britons.

The prime minister worked the phones Friday in tandem with Bush, speaking
also with Chirac and meeting in London with Saudi Foreign Minister Prince
Saud.

"What is important ... is that at moments of crisis (Americans) don't need to
know simply that you are giving general expressions of support and sympathy,"
Blair told British Broadcasting Corp.

"That is easy, frankly," he added. "They need to know: Are you prepared to
commit, are you prepared to be there when the shooting starts?"

Bush, who promises to consult with allies even as he says he will not change
his mind, meets with Canadian Prime Minister Jean Chretien in Detroit on
Monday and with Portuguese Prime Minister Jose Manuel Durao Barosso at the
White House on Tuesday. Then, while in New York for Sept. 11 observances,
Bush addresses the United Nations General Assembly on Thursday.

Last year's terrorist attacks were evoked in his Friday phone calls, with Putin,
Chirac and Jiang each expressing a "sentiment of solidarity" with Americans as
they pause for this grim anniversary, Fleischer said.

While courting naysayers abroad, Bush was also trying to build support at
home for a congressional resolution giving him authority to act against Saddam.

"I'm not going to categorize the information we were provided," Daschle said on
NBC "Today" program.

"All I would say is that some of our questions were answered but there are a lot
more out there that need to be addressed," the South Dakota Democrat said.

Also on NBC, Iraqi ambassador Mohammed Aldouri insisted that Saddam and
his country "no longer belong to this club of mass destruction weapons." The
ambassador added, "We have no such weapons at all, no chemical weapons,
no biological weapons."

Shown a tape of the interview with the ambassador, Senate Minority Leader
Trent Lott fired back: "If there were a question of truth or consequences, he just
failed. If this is not true, let inspectors in unfettered."